Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Happy 2023! We ended 2022 reading this book and started 2023 by recapping it!  Words on Fire is a historical fiction novel written by Jennifer. A. Nielsen. The story takes place in the 1800's during Russia's occupation of Lithuania. In order to help Lithuania assimilate, Russia has insisted every Lithuanian become Russian. They have banned their language, religion, culture and their books. The story follows Audra, a 12 year old girl whose parents were arrested for distributing illegal Lithuanian books. Audra soon discovers the world of book smuggling and the power of literature.  We took as detour and also talked about happy goals vs punishing goals. Happy goals are flexible and are constantly motivating where punishing goals are rigid and demotivating if not met perfectly. Be sure your 2023 goals are happy ones.  The reading journals we use are A Clockwork Reader  and Journals Unlimited Books I've Read . Our favorite being A Clockwork Reader. Note that some of the links above are affiliate links to books and brands we love and ones we think you will too!